FCA Heritage joins Miki Biasion in celebrating the Lancia myth

The department charged with conserving the company’s historic heritage takes part in “Amiki miei”, the international gathering organised by the Bassano del Grappa-born champion and open to Lancia cars built up to 1994.The event includes two special races and a scenic regularity event, as well as a concours d’élegance and a sportiness competition. FCA Heritage is in attendance with a splendid 1982 Lancia Rally, the car in which Biasion made his racing debut with Lancia.

On the weekend of 8 and 9 September, Bassano del Grappa will host “Amiki Miei”, an international gathering dedicated to the history of the Lancia brand, organised by world champion Miki Biasion, whose name will always be remembered for his legendary victories at the wheel of the Delta HF Integrale. Together, Lancia and Miki Biasion wrote some of the most splendid chapters in the history of motorsport- he won two consecutive world rally titles with the Delta, in 1988 and 1989 – and together they continue to inspire thousands of fans all over the world even today. Created specifically to celebrate the myth of the Lancia brand, its models, its victories and, of course, its drivers, “Amiki miei” is only open to cars built by the Turin constructor up until 1994.

Featuring food and wine tastings and “elegance” and “sportiness” competitions, the event enjoys the support of FCA Heritage, which will be present with a Lancia Rally – also known by its design code number 037 – in road version. This choice is no coincidence, as Miki Biasion made his racing debut at the wheel of a Lancia in 1983 actually in the Group B Rally. In that year, the driver from Bassano del Grappa took part in the European Championship, winning 11 out of 12 races and bringing home first international title, while simultaneously gaining the title of Italian Champion.

Lancia Rally (1982)

The car was designed at the beginning of the 1980s to replace the glorious but by then dated Fiat 131 Abarth Rally in international competitions. Characterised by project number SE037, it was based on the central core of the Lancia Beta Montecarlo, to which a front and a rear space frame were added by Pininfarina, who also designed the body. The 2-litre, 16-valve Fiat twin shaft engine supercharged with volumetric compressor was designed by Abarth and arranged longitudinally in rear mid position to the benefit of traction. The 037 street-legal version (the car displayed is one of the 200 made to obtain Group B type approval) produced 205 HP. It had a top speed in excess of 220 km/h and went from 0 to 100 km/h in less than seven seconds. The racing version (tuned up to deliver 310 HP of peak power) debuted at the Costa Smeralda Rally in April in 1982 and competed officially in the 1983 season, dominating the world championship from the very first race (the Monte Carlo Rally won by Walter Röhrl). In that year, in spite of the fierce competition from the new four-wheel drive Audi Quattro cars, Lancia won the World, European and Italian Championships.